Hurting
by I am the Skai
Summary: Ten-year-old Fang runs away from his abusive children home and literally runs into the Rides. He'd always wanted a famiily, but who knew fitting into one would be so hard?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Max Ride characters.**

_**Chapter 1**_

I ran through the dimly lit streets, tripping in the dark and almost falling on my face. Rocks seemed to come up from nowhere and claw at my feet. I tripped, sprawling face first into the dirt.

'You _need_ to get away!' I told myself. 'As far away as possible.' Crawling to my feet, I ran on, my bare feet slapping the wet concrete. It reminded me of all the times she'd hit me, or the other boys at the orphanage. The more I thought of her, the more I remembered that she was probably on my tail right now. I ran so fast that my feet began to lose their feeling.

I swerved around a man with blonde hair in a black suit with an umbrella who was exiting a brightly-lit building.

My brain wondered, 'Why was he in a suit? It was the middle of summer. Wasn't he boiling?'

I expected to stay clear of him, but instead, I felt myself flying through the air. Had he tripped me? Was he working for _her_? Maybe it was the Gardener? I didn't find out as I felt myself go skidding across the wet asphalt. I thunked to a stop when my head hit a hard surface, felling the blood trickle from the crown of my head.

"Oh my God, you ok kid?" the man asked, and then I blacked out.

I came to and tried to sit up. My head throbbed and the room spun. It took all my will power not to fall back asleep. Suddenly the events of the night before came rushing back to me. Immediately I felt my head, then my arms. I if was back at the home I would've been hand-cuffed to the infirmary bed, but my arms and legs were free. My entire torso was wrapped white gauze, as if someone had given up on trying to attend to each one of my individual cuts and whip-lines. My bare feet slowly regained their sense of feeling but I soon realized that the only feeling that registered was pain.

I looked around the room I was in. It looked like one of those living-rooms I've only seen on TV. There were couches and a small coffee table, in one corner, there was a TV. Sitting right in front of it were kids, a girl about my age, with long blond-brown hair and a younger boy with short blond hair.

"Turn it up, Max!" he complained.

"No," the girl responded. "People need quiet when they sleep, and he's still asleep." She jabbed a thumb towards me. Then she turned to see if I really was still asleep. The girl gasped, surprised to see me sitting up, staring at her. "Mom!" she yelled, not taking her chocolate-brown eyes off me. "He's up!"

Whatever happened to people needing quiet? Well I guess I wasn't asleep anymore…

I jolted back as a tall Asian-looking woman with a kind face hurried in. I glared at her, even though she looked nothing like _that woman_. In fact, with her jet-black hair and chocolate-brown eyes, the two women looked like polar opposites.

"Don't worry," the woman held up her hands in surrender "I won't hurt you. I want to help you." I slowly relaxed my muscles as she came closer and willed myself to think - more like scrounge for - happy thoughts. I sat as still as possible and tried to ignore her poking and prodding, she had stopped asking me questions since I hadn't answered any.

"Okay," she said suddenly, making me jump, "all done." Then she turned to me and smiled, "Are you hungry?"

I shook my head still not trusting her, but my belly rumbled ferociously in response. The lady and the girl giggled, the lady went to get dinner ready. The girl smiled at me then went to help the lady, her mom I guessed.

I turned my attention to the TV, and the boy came to sit beside me. We watched back to back episodes of '_Phineas and Ferb_' until the lady, his mom, called us for dinner.

The girl came up to me, "I'm Max," she said brightly, "I can show you around. Follow me." Suddenly, I noticed two things, she hadn't asked my name and she hadn't tried to take my hand like other people did. Still, she didn't seem afraid of me. Non-the less, I followed her, each step making me wince.

Max led me to a larger room with a big rectangular table and many chairs. Along the white walls there were wooden cabinets with glass doors, filled with plates, knives, forks, spoons and tall glasses. Around the table, a man with blond hair and blue eyes was already seated and smiled at me. I frowned at him. Wasn't that the man who had tripped me? Had he tripped me?

Max's mom helped Ari into his high-chair.

I was so busy taking in the scenery and asking myself questions that I hadn't realized my guide had left me behind. I ran to catch up with her, and nearly bumped into her when she stopped suddenly.

"You can sit here," she pointed to a chair to her left. I nodded and climbed up, my body screaming in protest, but I ignored it. On the table there was a pot of 'macaroni and cheese', so Max called it, and two plates of BBQ chicken pieces. Max served me two spoonfuls of macaroni and two BBQ chicken legs, before serving herself. I clasped my hands and closed my eyes tightly, ready for grace. After a few seconds I opened my right eye cautiously and looked around, hands still clasped. No-one else looked ready.

"What are you doing?" Max asked softly.

"He's waiting for grace," the man said smiling.

Max looked confused but her mom smile too. "You've been raised well," she said. I looked at her. I wouldn't exactly call it raising. It was more like do it or you'll get whipped. Even though I had been there since I was 1, I had more whip-lines than anybody. Among the kids, I was 'Mr. Indestructible', but among the 'disciplinarians', I was 'the kid who never learned'.

"Each person says their own grace here, sonny," Max's dad told me. I nodded, muttered my grace so no-one would hear, and then dug in.

**Got this story idea from the first chapters of 'Troubled Boy with Green Eyes'; hope the writer doesn't mind**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Max Ride characters.**

**Chapter 2**

After dinner, Max showed me the rest of the house before we came back to the living room. She down on the couch beside me as we watched TV, eventually, she turned to me.

"Can I ask you a question?"

I wanted to point out that that was one but I nodded.

"Well, actually..." Max fidgeted with her fingers, "do you mind if I guess your name?" I looked at her quizzically but shook my head. She smiled, "Okay," she started. "Aaron."

I shook my head.

"Jack. John. Peter. Matthew. Luke. Jonathon. Jake. Brian. Taylor. Terrance. Troy. Zane. Louis, even though you don't look French. Ummm… James. Christopher. Anthony. Tyrone. Carmichael. Barry. Jonas. Miguel. Dylan. Michael. Prince. Dominic. Samuel. Joseph. Logan. Jesse. Adam. Chester. Steven. Stephan. Timothy. Zachary. Jimmy. Dean. Isaac. Ivan. Gilbert. Lenny. Andrew. Hubert. Henry. Jacob. Robert. Bert. Bob. William. Nicolai. Khaleel. Jahleel. Randy. Dijon. Deeshai. Tajay. Tarran. Kai. Lando. Kareem. Delano. Tori. Brandon. Khaleem. Zaniel. Danzel."

The names were getting more and more ridiculous, but I didn't stop her. Each one was rewarded with the shake of my head.

About 7 more names later to make a grand total of 73 names (and yes I was counting), Max was looking annoyed.

"Okay," she sighed, "I think I'm done. Later." Suddenly, I felt guilty.

"Hey, Max," I called, only so she could hear. She whipped around so fast she nearly fell on her face. Her eyes were so full of wonder, I almost laughed. "Don't stop."

"But, I've said and thought of every boy name I can," she frowned thoughtfully. "It's as if you don't know your own name."

I looked away, she'd hit the nail on the head.

She looked sadly at me. "Well," she said. "I'm gonna tell daddy, and make sure that we march down to that orphanage tomorrow and find out your name."

That night I slept on the couch, even though Max's mom told I could sleep in Max and Ari's room. I had been put up on the top bunk of Max's bunk bed, but when the lights went out, I snuck up on the roof to think. I mostly thought about my name. I wondered what it was. My mom died in childbirth, and my dad took me to the St. Helen's Orphanage when I was one before he committed suicide. So no one thought of giving me a name. I was either 'him' 'Mr. Indestructible' or 'that one'. Kinda sucks.

I didn't want to wake up Max or Ari, so I went to sleep on the couch when I came back in from the roof. The couch was still comfier than my bed at the St. Helen's, so I slept peacefully.

The next morning, Max's mom was surprised not to see me in the bunk bed and walked around the house looking for me. She eventually found me on the couch, wide awake for her noisy looking.

She gave me a pair of Max's sneakers, and explained tha Ari's clothes would never fit me and that she assumed I wouldn't want to wear a girl's clothes. I nodded profusely. She led me upstairs to the children's bathroom, and told me to clean up as best I could. I looked in the mirror and saw a mean, hungry-looking 10-year-old with long, filthy black tangled hair that fell to the middle of his back. He had cold, black eyes and was in ripped black cloth that barely resembled a shirt. These people must have had huge hearts to take me in if I looked like this.

After that, we all drove to the St. Helen's Orphanage in their car, a white Toyota Sienna. They said they were going to find out my name and try to adopt me. I thought Max had been joking about that last night. She flashed me a smile.

When we got inside the Orphanage, Mr. and Mrs. Ride went to the front desk, leaving us in the lobby. Max looked around, interested in the people rushing about. Ari munched on a chocolate chip cookie his mom had given him. I stared at nothing.

One of the current bullies from the dorms came up to me. He must have been new, 'cuz I while I was here I'd never seen him. There was a whole pack of boys behind him, most of whom I recognized. They didn't look at me.

"So, I've heard about you, Mr. Indestructible," the boy said with a sneer. He was shorter than me, with blonde hair that stuck up in every direction and angry green eyes. I didn't know his name and I didn't want to.

"You came back," he said.

"So?" I snapped dangerously.

He looked taken aback. Max's eyes flicked between us nervously. She pulled Ari close to her.

"Aren't you scared that _that lady _will come and get you?" he asked.

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "She's already whipped me a bunch of times, and she can't kill me," I said. But I knew the whipping could get worse. Much worse. I'd heard about people who she locked up for 3 days without food or water before whipping them.

The boy glanced around trying to find a way to make me feel uncomfortable. It wasn't gonna happen. He was smaller than me, but about my age, plus half his back-up had either been my friends or were afraid of me.

At that instant, he grabbed Ari by the collar and lifted him into the air. Are screamed, spewing cookie crumbs all over the boy. This would have been funny, under any other circumstances.

Max and I, at the exact same time, punched the boy in the face. He dropped Ari holding his bleeding nose. Max caught her younger brother who cried into her shirt. The group of boys dispersed as they saw Drs. Ride coming around the corner.

"It seems nobody knows your name here," Max's mom said, looking puzzled as the boys ran away from us, around her and into the corridor.

"And no one wants you here," Max's dad said, just as puzzled. I could have told him that. "We are free to take you." I nodded thanks.

"First things first," Max's mom said. "You need clothes." She gestured to my ripped jeans, barely-holding-together shirt and non-existent shoes.

"Didn't I give you shoes?" she asked.

I pointed towards the car.

"They're in the car," Max translated flatly. Her mom sighed.

Ari, who was still sniffling, cheered up when his mom gave him another chocolate chip cookie. Does she keep cookies on her all the time?

"Can I have a cookie?" Max asked like a 3-year-old.

Her mom nodded. I watched as Max took a huge bite, almost finishing the cookie. Her mom saw me watching and chuckled handing me a cookie as well.

I took it suspiciously, turning it over and inspecting it carefully in my hands before shoving the whole thing in my mouth. It was heaven in cookie form. Max and Drs. Ride laughed at my antics.

So we went shopping.

I don't see why people like shopping. You just try on clothes, pick styles you like, look at the prices, exclaim at how high the prices are, look for a sale in the clothes you like, don't find a sale, and end up buying the expensive one anyway, still grumbling about the price. As in, waste of time, much?

The Rides took me to one of those all-inclusive mall places so they could get my hair cut too. Like they could get me to cut my hair. Instead, they washed, combed and trimmed it, leaving it just below my shoulders. The combing hadn't hurt much more than the whipping that _that woman_ had given me, so I was alright. Even though the hairdressers and barbers kept checking on me.

The Rides and I walked about from shop to shop, asking me what styles and colours I liked. In the end I got a bunch of black and grey t-shirts, two pairs of black jeans, some black boxers, and a pair of blue jeans that Max had forced me to buy.

She's like the annoying twin sister I never had.

* * *

**Hope Y'all liked it. :)**

**-S**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Max Ride characters.**

**Chapter 3**

"We're going to need a new house, Jeb," I heard Max's mom say for the hundredth time.

"We just don't have the money," her husband came with the same response. It was beginning to sound like a broken record.

"Well three growing kids can't keep living in one room."

"Then you should have thought about that before you opened our home to the world."

"The world isn't two kids, Jeb. And even if they were, I would want them to stay. They need a family!"

Two kids? I was utterly confused, but I didn't dwell on it. I left the couch and headed upstairs. For the third time this week, I went up on the roof to think. I had only been a week since the Rides had adopted me and I was already causing problems. I sighed into the warm July-night air, reclining on the roof.

What could _I_ do to help Rides? If I ran away they would break their hearts and it would take every, last, drop of my dignity to drag my half-dead carcass back. I could beg for money on the road like I used to… Nah! I was _way_ better than that now.

Then it hit me! I could get a job! Max's parents didn't have to know, but I would tell Max. You never know with girls but Max seemed different and easy to talk to. It's like she knew what not to do and how to keep me calm. I slid down the side of the roof, as I always did, and swing inside the window, landing on the top bunk of Max's bunk bed softly. Max and I had mastered the art of it over the week. It was our only past-time when Ari was asleep and Drs. Ride were at work.

We had practiced sliding down the roof on our backs, flipping onto our bellies at the last second. Then we caught the eves with our hands, and using direction and momentum, flew into the rooms. We could do it into all the top floor rooms in the house. The bunk bed structure was extremely rickety so no matter how softly you landed, you would always wake up the person sleeping on the bottom. I looked down as Max's eyes pinged open, alert.

"Just me," I told her. She relaxed.

"Went to think?" she asked.

I nodded, and even though it was dark and she couldn't have seen my nod, I knew she understood.

"I used to do that too," she said matter-o-factly. I looked down at her suddenly, making the bed shake.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, "when I just got here."

"Umm…you mean when you were born?"

"No silly," Max said laughing. "When I was adopted."

I stared blankly into the dark bunk below me. That explained the conversation I was overheard in the kitchen.

Max laughed. "I can guess your expression. Yes, I was adopted. Four years ago." She paused. "Right before my mom got pregnant with Ari."

"So they adopted a kid then made one," I said slowly.

"Yup," Max said. "And they could have sent me back, cuz they adopted me cuz they wanted a kid of their own. When Ari was born, they didn't really need me. But they kept me anyway."

"Which Orphanage did you come from?" I asked, curious.

"St. Helen's," she replied. "Just like you."

I sat up straight in the top bunk, making the bed shake.

"Relax," Max said, turning over. "You wouldn't have known me. I would have remembered seeing you."

"Oh yeah," I said. "I kinda stayed in the dark corners until I was five."

"That would explain it," Max said. She yawned.

"Anyway, I'm tired. Goodnight Fang."

"What?" I said. "I thought my name was Nicholas, Nick for short?"

"Well, I like the name Fang, and it fits you."

"How does it fit me?" I asked, truly puzzled. So much for understanding Max.

"Well, the way you snapped at that guy at St. Helen's," she said. "And how dangerous you seemed to the other boys there. Fang."

"Fang," I said softly. I thought about it for a moment.

"I like it," I decided. "Thanks Maxie."

"What?" she asked dangerously. "They named me Max, not Maxie."

"Max is short for what?" I asked. "Like Nick is short for Nicholas."

"They say it's short for Maxine. I say it's short for Maximum."

"Maximum?" I asked, snickering. "Is that even a name?"

"What?" she said again.

"Goodnight Max," I said quickly.

"Good. Goodnight Fang."

I smiled into the darkness. 'I guess I'll tell her about my job idea tomorrow,' I thought before I fell asleep.

The next morning, Max beat me to the kitchen so she did my job of pouring the cereal. I smiled; she couldn't pour properly so there was cereal inside and outside of the bowls. Max's face looked priceless as she saw me cracking up at the door-way of kitchen. I went over and cleaned it up for her; she couldn't clean to save her life.

"Well," Max's mom walked into the kitchen. "I'm off to work. No mischief toady you two."

"You always say that," Max said "Do we ever do anything mischievous?"

"Bye, Nick." Dr. Ride ignored her daughter. I waved and smiled a little more than I had yesterday. Max's dad followed her, taking the same course of action. I did the same.

"Hey Fang." Max called, I turned to look at her. "You should really work on your landings today; I thought there was an earthquake last night."

I stuck my tongue out at her; then I turned serious. I relayed the conversation I had heard last night between Max's parents. She looked disturbed.

"I've never heard either of them talk like that," she said. "Then again I've never snuck out of bed."

I looked up from my cereal, my mouth agape.

"Alright maybe _once_," she said. "But I don't think we should do anything just yet. It could just be a test, Dad used to give me lots of those."

I sighed and finished my breakfast, "K," I mumbled, heading to the sink, "I'm gonna go work on my flying."

"And landing!" Max added as I left the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and headed for the parent's room. I always started there, and went around the house till I reached our room.

The first one was always easy; the rents normally kept their windows open to air out the house. The bathroom window was a little more challenging, as you had to enter the window sideways. Still none was harder then Max's room's own. The skill of swinging through the window was for night stealth, but Max's rickety bunk-bed made it impossible. It was too old for either of us to land on, or climb up it silently. But we were both determined to try.

Suddenly I stopped short. Max wanted to defeat the bed too. So why wasn't she up here? Quickly, I searched the roof for booby-traps. There was nothing at all, not even a bird in the sky. Didn't that mean a storm was coming? I shrugged; it just meant I would have to finish up before the rain came. The sky rumbled off in the distance.

Taking it as my cue, I began to slide.

**3****rd**** Person Omniscient **

Officer Breda figured it was just a figment of his imagination or a weird type of one of those bird-shooing devices. But he began to get worried when the kid with long, black hair and black shorts began to slide down the side of the roof.

"Look at that!" He nudged his superior officer, who was driving. The other officer drove to the curb. Just as the kid was about to reach the eaves he flipped over, catching them with his hands. Using his momentum, the kid, probably a boy as he was shirtless, angled himself to sail through the window, the window that was closed. The cops watched in horror as the boy hit against the window with a sickening _smack_. He seemed stunned, free-falling for a little before he gained his bearings and slammed his feet onto the side of the house. He used this to slow his fall before using a roll to lessen the impact as he hit the ground.

"I'm gonna check that house out…" Officer Breda started.

"I'll stay here," Sergeant Fury replied.

The officer made his way to the front door as the boy yelled at the house.

"OPEN THE DOOR MAX!" His whole body was covered in dirt and leaves. A peal of laughter came from behind the door. A tall thin girl, about the same age as the boy opened the door.

Her laughter cut short when she saw the officer.

**Fang's P.O.V.**

"Good morning officer…" Max said, looking beyond me. This chick; she had the nerve to nearly _kill_ me then completely ignore me

"Good morning," a deep male voice answered behind me. I jumped and turned, realizing the officer for the first time. How long had he been standing there? I didn't like it when people hear me yell, it makes me sound feminine. Lolz He looked at me. "Are you okay, young man?"

I nodded mutely, and then I headed inside, muttering something about my baby brother. Max grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back.

"Yes officer?" Max asked, ignoring my glare.

"I'm Officer Breda." The sky thundered. "May I come in?" the officer asked, we nodded and let him in. Max was being a good hostess, offering him drinks and so on. I just sat in a ball in an arm-chair. I wasn't afraid, it's just cops and I never used to get along. I didn't know this one but he could've heard about me. And I was pretty sure whatever he heard hadn't been good.

The atmosphere in the room turned suffocatingly tense. "I'm gonna go bathe," I said softy. The others nodded and I left the room as the officer turned to Max.

I felt kinda bad for bailing out on her. But I was gonna come back. And this was all kind of her fault anyway, for locking the window.

I hoped nothing would happen to her.

* * *

**Am i making the too mushy?  
****Plz tell me.**

**-S**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: i own ideas only.**

**Chapter 4**

I sauntered down the stairs, rubbing the towel on my head. I had bathed and put on a pair of jeans over my boxers, since there were people i.e. cops in the house. I didn't bother wearing a shirt, because my hair was wet, and I was too lazy to put one on.

As I approached the living room, I heard the officer reprimanding Max. I felt even guiltier. I entered the room with the towel on my shoulders. At the same time, the front door opened. Cold air blew into the house. I guess I should have gotten a shirt.

"Officer Breda," a voice said. A tall man with short spiky black hair stood at the door in a raincoat.

"Is everything alright?" he continued.

"Yes Sergeant Fury," he replied standing at attention. "Everything seems to be in order, besides this little girl's way of thinking."

"She's 10," I protested.

The rest of the room realized I was there for the first time. The Sergeant's eyes widened.

"You're that kid!" he exclaimed. I took a step back cautiously.

"You saved my butt last year!" he continued. I frowned at him as Officer Breda stared at me, mouth agape.

Sergeant Fury looked at his Officer. "This is the boy who helped us to capture than man, Mr. Kine." Officer Breda looked at me with new found respect.

Max and I looked confused.

"Delighted to meet you," he said. He reached out to shake my hand. I stared at it, then looked back at him. He drew his hand back in slowly, playing with his knuckles.

"Sorry about him," Max said to the policemen.

"What did you do?" she whispered to me.

I shrugged.

"YOU don't remember?" Sergeant Fury asked. "You beat up that guy, stole his lunch, then ran for your life when you saw me."

Max looked at me.

"He was so bruised afterwards, we had no trouble taking him into custody," he continued.

Suddenly I remembered. "I didn't beat him up to help you. I didn't even know you were there. He stole my lunch. And I was hungry." I folded my arms defensively.

The policemen laughed. "What's your name son?" they asked.

I tried out my new name. "Nicholas Ride."

"And you, little feisty miss?" Officer Breda asked Max.

"Maxine Ride," I said.

Max elbowed me. "I prefer Max."

"Well. Max, you're still not off the hook for locking your brother outside," Officer Breda began.

"On the contrary," Sergeant Fury interrupted. "I still haven't thanked Nicholas for his services to the Force. I think this would be an excellent way to do so, don't you?"

Officer Breda was at a loss for words. Sergeant Fury winked at us. Max jumped up and down elatedly, I don't do stuff like that; I'm cool.

"S-sure, sir," Officer Breda said at last.

"So this whole thing never happened?" Max asked. "It's like it was erased from our brains?"

"I told you her thought processes were weird," Officer Breda whispered to Sergeant Fury.

"Yes," Sergeant Fury replied.

"Thank you," Max told them.

"You're welcome," Sergeant Fury said. "But don't do that again, understand?"

"Yes," she said meekly.

The police-men left and we heard a car drive away.

Max turned to me "We're off the hook!"

Then she saw my expression of pure rage. Max found a sudden interest in her bare feet. "Sorry" she said softly. "Are you ok?"

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. The action made one of the whip-cuts on my chest reopen. Great… it was the biggest one too. The one I had gotten when _she_ used the barbed whip. The cut started at my right shoulder and kept a steady line to my navel. Blood spattered the floor. Max looked up at me, visibly scared.

"Max," I called, as she headed towards the phone, "I'm -." I was cut off by a shock of pain that made me double over.

"Hello, North Arizona Hospital?" Max said into the phone. I blocked out the rest, slowly lying down on the floor and putting my hands on the areas on the cuts that were bleeding the most. Max leapt over me to get Ari.

"They'll be here any minute," Max reassured me, "just hold on!" Soon she came back down-stairs with a somewhat sleepy Ari in her hands. She wrote a hasty note to her parents just in case they got home before the hospital got a hold of them.

Soon we heard sirens outside and a knock on the door. She put Ari down beside me and went to answer it. I think I must have blacked out after that because the next thing I knew, I was in a white, well-lit room. I tried to sit up to get a better look around. A hand made me stop suddenly. I looked frantically for its owner.

"Calm down, Fang," Max said, "If you sit up you'll start to bleed again."

"Did they give me stitches?" I asked, feeling dazed. Max nodded.

"Where are your rents?" I asked.

Max looked surprised but stepped to one side as her mom came beside her. She looked a little more confident than her daughter but still very scared.

"Dr. R…" I started.

"Mom," she said.

I continued as if she hadn't said anything.

"How much was the surgery?" I asked.

She looked taken aback. Max frowned.

"I wanna pay it back," I continued.

Dr. Ride paused, then launched into a spiel about how I was her son, and I didn't need to repay her, etc. etc. I caught Max's eye.

'I'll help you,' she mouthed with a wink.

I sighed, were all the Rides like this?

"Nicholas Ride…" Max's mom huffed.

"Yes, mom?" I asked innocently, she looked startled and lost whatever scolding she was going to give me.

"Nicholas Ride…?" a male voiced called from the door .

"Present and breathing," I responded dryly. Max was trying hard not to crack up.

"Yes, well," the man continued, looking amused at my dry humor. He had orange spiky hair and small brown eyes. "We have completed surgery and you are 100% healthy." Then he frowned, "However, if you don't consider it as prying, the hospital would like to know how you got these cuts." He glanced uneasily at Max's mom.

"It wasn't her," I said quickly. The doctor turned his attention back to me.

"What?" he asked.

"She didn't do it," I clarified. "I got these from an orphanage. She adopted me afterwards."

"Is this true ma'am?" the doctor asked Dr. Ride.

She nodded mutely, staring at me.

"And how did they get there? What instrument did they come from?"

"A whip," I said slowly, frowning. What did they look like they came from?

Dr. Ride and the doctor frowned. Max looked at me sadly, as she had when I'd told her before.

"I got them for being 'disobedient'," I added, using air quotes.

An assistant came to the door. "Is a Dr. Ride here?"

Dr. Ride looked up. "That's me."

"We need you in the Administrative section to take care of some business."

"Ok," Dr. Ride said to her. "I'll be right back," she said to us.

She left.

"Is it just me or did that sound like don't move," Max said.

"Like I could, " I replied.

I turned to the doctor, who was checking some confusing-looking charts at the foot of my bed. "So," I said. "How much did that surgery cost?"

"It was relatively cheap," he replied. "Say, $5500."

Max and I looked at each other.

"Why do you ask?" the doctor continued.

"Oh, no reason," I replied nonchalantly.

"You can't pay it back," the doctor said. "No matter how hard you try. You'll have school this August."

"It's only the end of May," Max countered.

The doctor shrugged. "Suit yourself. Your mom will be back shortly." He left.

"We can do it," Max said to me.

"We?" I asked raising an eyebrow at her. Since when was she involved?

"It is partially my fault. And there is no way you'll earn $5500 by yourself in a month."

"But who's gonna take care of Ari?" I asked.

"I didn't even think about that," Max said, shocked. I sighed, silly girl. We both frowned. That would be a problem.

"We can't pay for a babysitter cuz we don't have enough money as it is," Max said.

"And he's not old enough to stay at home by himself," I added.

"I know!" Max suddenly said. "I can ask my best friend Ella! She loves kids, and Ari likes and knows her. And she won't ask for any pay either."

"Nice," I said with a smile.

"So, $2250 each," I calculated.

"In a month and a half," Max added.

"Where could we earn that much money?" I asked. Max put her finger to her lips and pointed to the door. I shut up immediately. Her mom was coming back.

Dr. Ride poked her head in the door.

"They said that you need to stay and rest until tomorrow, Nick. But for now, visiting hours are over," she said to both of us. "We'll be back tomorrow. Come on Max."

"Coming," Max said. "I'll start looking," she told me.

"Looking for what?" Dr. Ride asked.

"For…a book for him to read," Max lied smoothly. "Or something. He's gonna get bored in here. Could we come and drop it off later so he won't be bored tonight?"

"We'll see," Dr. Ride said. "Bye Nick."

"Bye," I said.

"Yeah, bye," Max said, with a wink. The door closed behind them.

I gotta admit, that girl really knew how to lie. I guess that's what you get from growing up in an orphanage like St. Helen's.

* * *

**I got bored an put ing a bunch of ramdom characters. Like Dr.#1 = Ichigo and Dr.#2 = Keigo. Also Fury and Breada from FMA. **

**Hope u liked.**

**-S**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: only ideas are mine.**

**Chapter 5**

About half an hour after Max and her mom left, there was a knock on the door.

"Fang…?" Max opened the door a crack.

"Yeah," I answered, "What's up?"

"I brought you an iPhone and some comics," she handed me the comic book and a small dark rectangle with a pair of black head-phones sticking out of it.

I stared at it blankly, turning it over in my hands. I would never admit it to Max, but I had no idea how these things worked. She smiled and turned it on for me, then she opened a music tab, an internet and showed where the games were.

She turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked

"I left Ari at home," she said.

"And your mom…?"

"Went back to work."

I frowned, "So how'd you get here?"

"Bike," she answered. I raised an eyebrow.

"I'll look for a job," we said in unison.

Max looked surprised. I waved the iPhone at her. She smirked, "K. Later." She creaked the door open and looked either side, like was crossing a road, before sprinting into a corridor.

I watched her go from the window before pushing in my earphone and setting to work with 'Falling inside the Black' By Skillet blared in my ears.

* * *

I glared coldly at the Doctor who had stopped _and_ woke me up. It was a totally different doctor from last time, in personality and appearance. He cowered away from me, trying to hide behind his crazy mop of brown hair. He was obviously an idiot, a trainee, or both.

"Well?" I asked

"100% recovery," he read from a clip-board. "Free to leave at anytime."

I nodded then looked out-side. The sky was dark, with faint purple streaks of light at the horizon.

"What time is it?" I asked, turning back to the doctor. He hadn't moved, but he was starting at me in horror. Suddenly I had remembered that I taken of my scrubs before I went to sleep, leaving my scared stomach and back visible when I sat up.

I glared at him again, "Oi!"

He jumped and tore his eyes from my stomach.

"Yeah, what time is it?" I growled, "And can I use your phone."

He looked puzzled, taking a cell phone slowly out of his pocket and checking his watch.

"Its 7:00…" the doc said stretching out the phone he had taken out.

"Not _your_ phone, idiot!" I snapped; this dude really was stupid. He jerked back, looking stunned. I sighed and got out of bed, heading for the door, sticking the iPhone in my back pocket and Max's comics under my arm. I was almost there when the door flew open, hitting the doctor in the head. It was entirely his fault tough. I mean who stands beside the _hinges_ of a _closed_ door? Max stood in the doorway panting.

"I found a job!" Max yelled, then she frowned, "Where are _you_ going?"

"Home," I answered nonchalantly, "And maybe work tomorrow." She took comics as I passed her. "Did you bring a bike for me too?"

"No. You were supposed to be in bed."

I sighed.

"Plus I walked here."

I looked at her, her cheeks were cherry-coloured and her breathing was rugged. "No you didn't!" I said as we walked past the front desk. Doctors had recognized us, running around us, trying to stop us. One stood in front of us; without breaking our strides, the man got a free double gut punch from us. It was clear he was just a regular doc, but he did his best to try and ignore the pain.

We both stopped abruptly and glared at him.

"You are not allowed to leave…" He said weakly.

"Why not?" we both asked fiercely, the doctor winced.

"Max?" we turned to see a boy our age with blond movie-star hair. He was in shorts, an Aéropostale shirt and black converse. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious in my tattered black jeans and sneakers.

"Dylan," Max said flatly.

The boy smirked. "Seems like you're in a bit of trouble."

"Why do you care?" Max asked.

"Well, 'cuz we're such _close friends_," he said sarcastically, "I'll pull some strings and get you off the hook."

She glared at him. "Whatever."

Dylan called off the doctor standing in front of us, and Max stalked out the door without a second glance. I was right behind her.

"Friend of yours?" I asked as we walked down the road.

Max snarled at me.

I grinned. "Just joking."

"Fang, don't make me strangle you."

"Yes ma'am."

She cheered up a bit at that. "He's Dylan Hertz, a boy in my- well soon to be our- class. He's pretty much a prep school jock."

I nodded.

"Don't worry," she assured me. "Maybe he'll get kicked from school, or go to boarding school or something."

I laughed. "Does he need it?"

"Yup," Max replied. "Biggest bully I know."

We walked the rest of the way home in relative silence, avoiding the cars which splashed past us like we were invisible. Apparently it had rained while I was in the hospital. A lot of rain.

When we got in the front door, Max's mom was pacing in the living room. Her dad was sitting on the couch, looking just as worried.

"We're home," Max announced as we entered.

"Max, Nick, thank God!" Dr. Ride (female) said she jumped towards us and enveloped us both in a hug. Awkward.

"We're fine Mom," Max said, feeling as uncomfortable as I did.

"Okay, okay," she said softly. "Go ahead and get ready for dinner."

We went upstairs, walking right past Dr. Ride (male), Jeb I called him in my head. Suddenly I realized, he hadn't said a word to us since we had come in. Weird.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun (Belt from Croods)  
****BTW Croods is a REALLY stupid movie.**

**-S**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: only ideas are mine.**

_**Chapter 6**_

After dinner, Max and I finally got to talk. She told me about the job and expressed that she was going to do it no matter what I said. I shrugged nonchalantly and told her my suspicions about Jeb.

"That _is_ weird," she admitted. "Normally he's even a little worried about me. Not nearly as much as Mom does, but…"

I nodded. "I noticed something though…," Max continued. "He more did that when I had first come. Like for my first week of school, he asked if anything happened, every day. But now…" Max's expression was troubled.

Suddenly I felt guilty for making her think. "Don't worry Max," I told her, "we'll figure it out. What we should do now is get some sleep. We still have to go to the interview tomorrow."

"Interview…" she muttered.

"For the job…" I prompted.

"Oh yeah! I knew that!" she protested.

I rolled my eyes, "Night Max."

"Night Fang."

* * *

The next morning, after Max's parents went to work, Max and I dressed up in button down shirts and jeans with converse. I looked at Max; she had decided we would pretend to be fraternal twins. Her plan was working, with her white button down shirt and blue jeans; we looked like extreme opposites, with me in my grey button down, and black jeans, yet still the same. Ella came over soon after, to look after Ari.

"Well, we're off!" Max told Ella as the two of us walked out the front door and hopped on our bikes.

Soon we reached the hotel, a fancy place called Le Plax. "Okay," Max whispered to me, as we walked in, "I gave us fake names cuz they'll only employ boys our age."

I nodded, "So what's my name?"

"Zane," she answered, "And I'm Alex."

I snickered. "You really went far with the opposite thing. You might as well have called me Alpha and you Omega."

Max glared at me. "I'd be Alpha."

"Whatever…" We went inside. Le Plax looked very fancy from the outside, but even fancier on the inside. There were people in suits everywhere, walking purposefully, talking on phones, or just mingling with others. The doorman looked at us strangely, I couldn't blame him. Two slightly underdressed boys in a fancy hotel like this one. I nodded at him before Max pulled m to the front desk at warp speed.

"Morning," Max beamed at the man on the other side of the desk. He glanced up from his work.

"Parent hunting?" He asked in an English accent. I took all my will power not to snicker.

"We're here for the job interview," Max informed him, "I called you yesterday, Mr. Fitzpatrick."

The man's eyes bulged, "You're… Alex and Zane?" He asked incredulously.

"It's Zane and Alex," I corrected him under my breath, I had to act mature.

"Well…" Mr. Fitzpatrick still looked surprised, "Follow me for your uniforms."

"No interview?" I asked.

"You're just carrying bags," he said, already walking; no _waddling_ off, "And you'll always work together since you're small."

"Cool," Max and I said; we could definitely pull this off.

* * *

"This job is so easy," Max muttered to me as we changed, "Just…" she looked at me, "Smile."

"I can smile!" I protested. "I just don't like to."

"I know you can smile, you just don't smile with _adults_." She had a point. I looked again at the clothes Mr. Fitzpatrick had given us. It was a black pair of dress pants, a black button up jacket and a pair of white gloves.

"Gloves!?" Max and I had asked at the same time.

"Yes," Mr. Fitzpatrick said condescendingly, "We don't know where either bag or _hand_ has been." It took all my willpower not to bite back.

I took off my shoes and jeans, pulling on the trousers over my boxers, while Max did the same. She had made her parents cut her hair so it was short and curly like a boy's. I still had my hair in a loose ponytail with strands falling out at the front.

"You think we should keep on our dress shirts?" I asked Max.

She shrugged, "Ask the boss."

I sighed and dragged on my shoes, heading outside where Mr. Fitz. said he would wait for us.

"Sir?" I asked the mass of black coat standing at the doorway.

"You're done!" Mr. Fitz asked enthusiastically. His face fell when he saw my clothes.

"Almost…" I tried to cheer him up; he looked like a sad baby walrus. "We just don't know if we should take off our shirts or just wear the jackets over them…"

"It really doesn't matter." Mr. Fitz looked annoyed. "Go finished getting dressed. And tell your twin to hurry up." I nodded and headed inside, taking off my shirt.

"So no shirt?" Max asked, from her seat beside me.

"Do what you want, he doesn't care." I dragged on my jacket.

"Don't open any more wounds," Max cautioned me. "And wear an undershirt tomorrow, man!"

I rolled my eyes and finished the buttons before dragging back on my converse and sticking me gloves in my back pocket.

"Let's go!" Max said excitedly, "And Zane?"

"What?" I asked, stunned at the usage of my new name.

"Smile."

* * *

**Lolz; good luck with that Max…**

**-S**


	7. AN

**To all my followers: sorry I stopped writing for so long, had my grade 9 exams (they basically decide what I get to be in life). I have started some new stories, two are okay, one needs lots of help. So R&R if you can.**

* * *

**S**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I only ideas are owned by le moi.**

_**Chapter 7**_

"This job is a joke," I mumbled to Max as wheeled our trolleys back downstairs.

"Oi! Keep pushing!" someone behind us yelled.

"Where, into the wall?" Max and I mumbled at the same time.

"Denis! Behave!" a lady's voice said. Then I pretty blonde lady came up beside us, "I'm sorry about my son. He's just so..." She cut herself off, staring at us.

"Yes ma'am?" I asked. "May we help you?"

The woman looked surprised, "Children?!" she yelled across the room to Mr. Fitz while grabbing my jacket collar. "You hired _children_?" The lady lifted me off the ground.

"Ma'am, ma'am" I said as calmly as possible. She ignored me. "Woman!"I said louder. "You're choking me."

The woman looked shocked, but didn't move. I sighed and pried her fingers off my jacket. She grabbed my collar again, determined, apparently, that I would not escape. I used my momentum to flip backwards over the woman's head, forcing her to let me go or break her arm: her choice. She did the smart thing. A few people applauded, and one even threw us a quarter like we were performers.

Max pushed off ahead of me, trying to act unconcerned, as we walked past the astonished lady and her son. Mr. Fitz was behind his desk looking at his hair or lack thereof; in his mirror. He waved us by; so we parked our carts and headed to our _chill_ room.

I checked my chest to see if any cuts had reopened while Max fidgeted nervously beside me.

"I'm fine, Max," I assured her with a grin. She rolled her eyes and we headed back outside as our bell rang.

"What's this?" a snooty voice said. "Children?" I looked up at the tall skinny man with a _huge_ nose and beady eyes.

"Good afternoon, sir," Max and I said as one. "May we take your bags?"

The man nodded and looked at the woman beside him. She was his mirror image; hideous.

"Just don't drop anything," she said in a mean British accent.

Max and I got our trolleys and loaded their 10 bags. Three for each teen girl, which there were two of, three for the British lady and one for the big nosed husband.

"I think we'll go out now," Daddy-snoot-face [LOL!] said, the three females around him nodded.

"Just put our stuff in our room," the two girls said, before blowing us each kisses.

I pretended to gag as we headed towards the elevator again. This job would be interesting.

* * *

"How much does one girl need?" I protested, flopping down on my bed. Max sat next to me, looking amused.

"Something tells me this job'll be fun..."

I glared at her.

"At least they feed us," she pointed out.

"I guess..." I said, "But if I get heart shaped nuggets one more time, I swear I'll puke it all on the phoney chef." Max giggled. Ari laughed in his cot beside us.

"At least they pay us individually," Max said. I grinned; she was really just like my twin. We had set our eyes on something and we weren't stopping till we got it.

* * *

Most kids would say that their holidays went at a nice sluggish pace; however, our holidays went down the drain at the speed of light. Before we knew it, it was July. We had to quit our job so not to cause suspicion of Max's parents as they were home a lot more often. That wasn't much of a problem for us since we each made $2000. It would be harder to work during Christmas break since it was shorter and has all this 'family time' foolishness tied onto its backside.

Drs. Ride took us to the mall for 'back to school' shopping. Which meant for me, pick up as many black and gray sweaters and jackets, under a reasonable budget of course.

"Look, its Max!" a mean-sounding girl's voice rang through the '8-10 back to school' area. Drs. Ride had left Max and I alone in this part of the store while they had went in search of electronics and books that I could need for school.

Max turned to a group of girls at the other end of the isle.

"A fight?" I asked, balling my fists. I'd learned from St. Helens that girls could cause twice as much physical pain as any boy.

"Just of words," Max answered, looking back at the clothes in her hands, "Act like they aren't there."

I nodded, looking around the store absent-mindedly.

"Max, can we leave the girls section now?" I whined, sounding like Ari, "I'm bored!"

Max paused dramatically, eyeing the girls from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Max!" the ring-leader sounded nervous.

"And the horses jump..." I muttered. Max, trying hard not to laugh, faced the girls.

"Oh, hey Kia," she called.

"And company..." I added.

The ring-leader smirked. "Who's the cutie, Max?"

"Haven't bewitched him have you?" another asked.

"That sounds more like you..." Max and I growled in unison. Suddenly a boy walked up. I immediately jumped into commando mode. The boy walked up to Kia, glaring at me before turning to her.

"What are you doing," he asked in a deep rumbling voice.

"Schooling these losers," Kia responded, sticking out her chin at us. "They need to know whose boss."

"Ooooooo, scary," I said sarcastically, "Have mercy on us..."

"You're stupid," the boy suddenly said to Kia, "If you're schooling 'em, you need to use your fists."

With that, he lunged at me. Now this kid looked like he didn't have a bone in his body, much less any muscle. He was literally a tusk-less baby walrus.

"You wanna take him, or can I?" I asked Max.

She shrugged from the trolley, "Just don't open any more scars..."

"Roger that," I muttered.

At the sound of Max's voice, Baby-blubber stopped short. "Max?"

Max looked up, annoyed, "I thought you were gonna use your fists, Bradley?" She sneered, not looking up. "I was going to enjoy watching Fang beat you to a bloody pulp."

I grinned wickedly at baby-blubber-Bradley and jumped around like a boxer, "Let's go blubber-boy..."

"Don't bother Fang," Max sighed, "We'll just get in trouble for bulling."

"K..." I retreated regretfully.

* * *

**Who knew Max would break up a fight?!**

**-S**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Max Ride.**

_**Chapter 8**_

"Are you two ok?" Dr. Ride (female) looked concernedly at us.

"Yeah?" Max frowned, playing confused, "Why?"

"We heard some yelling, like kids having a fight..." Dr. Ride (male) started but he stopped when I shook my head frowning. Funny how both Drs. Ride believed me, but not their first child, even if she was adopted.

"So nothing attacked you..." Dr. Ride (female) looked relieved. We both shook our heads.

Dr. Ride (male) frowned, "Young man, you really need to cut that hair of yours before you go to school." I frowned, shook my head and mimed pulling my hair up in a ponytail.

"No way," max's mom agreed, "That's definitely getting cut, _today_." I sighed and headed for the exit, this was going to be a _long_ shopping trip.

"See Fang?" Max snickered at as we sat in the backseat of the Rides' black Sienna, "Hair cuts are pretty cool, aren't they?"

"I will bite you..." I threatened her softly, glaring at her. Beside me, Ari giggled at us. I swear that kid is as evil as his sister, even if they weren't related.

"Max, don't tease him," Dr. Ride (f) turned in her seat. Max nodded solemnly and her mom back turned around to face the road. I grinned at Max devilishly, I'd won this one.

Outside the car, the wind had really picked, I was tempted to roll down the window and let the wind blow through my, now too short, hair.

The hair dressers had commented bitterly about the condition of my hair, apologising profusely as their comb hitched in a knot, which there a lot of. When they were done, they asked Max's mom heaps of questions; mainly why she hadn't touched my hair in 10 years.

"I got adopted 5 weeks ago," I said icily, "If you think hair conditions are the worst thing, go ask Sister Abrilla from St. Helens boarding home what her punishments were." Then I took one last look in the mirror, running my hand through my black hair, it stuck up in all direction and it looked like it could puncture a balloon; the hair at the back of my head, was longer than at the front so I looked like 'Shadow' from Sonic the Hedgehog.

"It fits you," Max had been watching me as I ran my finger through the top of my hair repeatedly.

"Thanks..." I muttered softly.

"We're home..." Max's dad, I like to call him Jeb in my head, called playfully.

"Yay!" Max and Ari responded. I did a silent, one-man Mexican wave.

"How long do you expect me to pay for the expenses of a child that's not mine!?" Jeb's voice floated through the parents' closed bedroom door.

"Until he can fend for himself!" Max's mom's voice replied hotly, "You'd never believe _you_ were the one who brought him to the house at the dead of night!"

"He looked like he was going to die, Valencia. You wanted me to just leave him there!?"

"Well now what do you want to do, drop him after promising him a school life, a safe home, siblings!?" There was then a period of silence. I froze mid-step on my way to the kitchen, thinking I had been found out.

"We'll scare the kids; I'm going to make dinner..." mom's (as she had insisted I call her that and Max's mom is hard and long to say and think) voice sounded like it was coming closer.

"Don't run away from this! Valencia!" Jeb's voice shocked me, it reminded me way too much of the gardener's voice back at St. Helens. I swear that man was in league with Sister Abrilla. But then again, I did sneak around the garden a lot...

I slid down the banister as quickly as I could; it was almost impossible to get around this house soundlessly, unless you could fly. So I do my best; the best time was when Max and I got from our rooms to the dinner table in 2 seconds flat. We nearly gave mom a heart attack.

"What's going on?" Max asked as I walked towards her, "You're grinning like a loon."

"Tell you later," I whispered as mom came down the stairs, looking flustered.

"Are you okay, mom?" Max and I asked; we had gotten used to acting as twins, finishing each other's sentences, speaking as one, the works.

"I'm fine..." She gave us a forced smile, "Who wants to help me with dinner." No-one said a word.

"Well I guess that's us..." I mutter, following her into the kitchen, Max on my tail.

"So?" Max sat beside me on my bed in our room, "What did you hear today...?"

"How did you know?" I asked, shocked.

"You clamed up as soon as mom came down the stairs and mom and dad won't even look at each other..." Max supplied. "So you heard them arguing. What did they say?"

I sighed it relayed the conversation to Max, flawlessly; if I do say so myself. By the time I was finished, Max was crying. Like, seriously hard. Her entire body shook and she didn't sound like she was breathing properly.

"Um...Max?" I asked gently putting my hand on her far shoulder. She looked at me sadly, her breathing still ragged. My mind raced for something to say. Survival instincts!

"Deep breaths..." I supplied, "In... Out... In... Out..." As soon as Max was breathing properly again, she tackled me with a hug.

"What are we going to do?!" she sounded extremely vulnerable and weak. When I didn't respond, she looked up and seemed to remember who she was talking to.

"S –sorry," she stammered, releasing my from the bear hug she had put me in.

"S'okay," I patted her on the shoulder softly, "That's what family is there for."

"What is this, a soap opera?" Jeb stood in the open doorway of Max's room, looking like Dr. Evil.

I glared at him putting Max behind me. Jeb laughed harder, bending backwards like an evil scientist before stopping abruptly. Alright, which idiot gave him the happy juice?

Grabbing Max's hand, I stormed the door, attempting to push past our 'blockade'. Jeb pushed me back roughly, nearly knocking me into Max.

"You're not going anywhere..." Jeb grinned like a maniac.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, "Try me..." Jeb squared his feet like a boxer, swinging his arms about him like a gorilla. (Jeb the jerk Gorilla-Boxer... nice)

"Che..." I letting go of Max's hand and smirking. I jumped as he made a swipe for my head, my feet clearing his hand. Stretching out my legs, I kicked him in his face, my bare heel hitting his forehead, then, by swinging on the sill of the window above the door; I gave him a Fang Mega-head Slam. (I turned and caught his head in between my knees and, using both our weights, slammed him face first into the wooden floor)

Max looked up at me, terrified.

"Sorry..." I said softly.

"That was _awesome_!" Max grinned at me.

"Thanks..." I said taken aback.

"Mom?!" Max and I took turns yelling the word as we went down the stairs. We stopped abruptly as we heard Ari crying in the kitchen. It was a race to get there but in the end it was a tie. Max and I barged into the kitchen to see Ari crying bitterly next to our mother, who lay unconscious on the floor.

* * *

**I didn't Max as good a fighter as Fang cuz i figured since she'd been adopted earlier than him, she was used to the good life.  
Anyway, thx 4 reading & plz reveiw.**

**-S**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer,: I don't own Max ride.**

_**Chapter 9**_

"Hold her higher, her hair is dragging!" Max protested, lifting her side of the mother's unconscious body higher.

"Is hair _really_ that important right now?" I asked agitatedly. Jeb would be up some and I really didn't want to have to meet him again, he'd be madder than last time.

"Where are we going anyway?" Max sighed, finally understanding my urgency.

"For now, the car," I said, "Your mom's getting heavier by the second."

Soon we were sitting quietly, Ari in his car seat and Dr. M. all belted-up in the passenger seat like she was going for a ride. Max and I were conversing behind the wheel.

"Vroom! Vroom!" Ari giggled, jangling his toy keys. He always did that when we were in the car, waiting for the 'rents to start the car. I paused mid-sentence.

"What?" Max was suddenly aware of my silence. I pointed towards Ari.

"Really?" She sounded more wound up that I did. "He does that every day..."

"Those keys..." I muttered, "They sounded like real car keys..." I turned towards Max, thank God our brains were on the same wave-length, if we said Ari's name too much, he would get very suspicious and not trust anyone.

"Hey Ar," Max grinned at her little brother.

""Hi Max!" He grinned back, "Let's go for a ride."

"Sure, but you have to give us the keys, Captain Ari," Max held out her hand. I held my breath.

Ari hesitated but handed over the keys without fail.

"You steer, I'll work the pedals," Max said, giving me the keys.

I grinned, despite the situation. "You and your left and right problems..."

Max glared at me as she sat on the floor by my feet. I immediately crossed my legs so I could concentrate better.

"Alright," I took a deep breath, put in the key and turned. The car revved to life.

"Max, try out those pedals o' yours." I couldn't stop smiling as we backed slowly down the driveway and onto the street. "Let the games begin."

"And may the odd ever be in your favour..." Max continued the quote.

"Stop." I said. We jerked to a stand-still. "Gently next time," I smiled. "I'll tell you when to stop abruptly like that."

"K."

"Go."

"Yup."

I swerved around a taxi that had stopped unexpectedly, "Slow us down, Max." I instructed as we got close to the turn for the Cathedral.

"How do I do that...?" Max sounded worried.

"Just alternate gas and break really fast." I responded. The turn was getting closer..., "Max...?" I called, nervous now.

"Got it," she said, smiling up at me.

"Good, just in time." We slowed nicely before turning easily onto the empty Cathedral road. "Awesome." I smiled, parking beside the meter and slipping in a dollar's worth of quarters.

"Shouldn't there be a service going on...?" Max asked who was sitting beside me in the driver's seat.

"In the middle of a hot summer day, in July?" I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Back to school service...?" Max asked hopefully.

"That's the most suicidal thing I've ever heard in my life." I sighed shaking my head at her.

The church was mostly empty so no-one had a problem with two 10 year olds and a 5 year old drag/carrying a grown lady into one of the pews at the back of the church.

I relaxed on the bench and stared up at the ceiling, smiling at the ceiling mosaic of the birth and death of Jesus as I always did. I wondered how he could forgive so easily. How he could just let the people who were to respect him beat him down and hang him on a cross?

"Aren't you gonna pray?" Max's voice brought me back to reality. I turned to look at her.

"Does he really listen?" I asked. I mean, I came here and prayed every time I ran away from St Helen's. I prayed that someone would come and take me home with them. But St. Helen's always found me and I'd get dragged back there, kicking and screaming and yelling at God.

Max shrugged, "I've been told that if you say thanks for stuff before you say the stuff you want you' get what you need."

"What about what you want?"

"If you don't need it yet, or at all, you don't get it."

"Well we _need _your mom to wake up," I muttered.

"Thank first..." Max reminded me. I sighed; well this should be fun, talk to a being that you don't know can here you. So I sat there thinking about all the things I'd been thankful for, even marginally. I didn't bother to say them out loud cuz Max had told me that God could hear thoughts; whatever that meant. When I had about 15 things, I moved on to the asking. What were those, you may ask, but that's between me and God.

After a while, we just sat and relaxed in the quiet safety of the church.

"Nggh..." Max's mom, I'll now call her Valencia, groaned and sat up. Saying/thinking mom in relation to her sounds wierd.

"Mommy!" Ari wrapped his tiny arms around her neck, "I prayed for you!"

"Me too," Max added.

"And me..." I put in. Valencia looked at us all blankly.

"Um, that's nice but where exactly are we?" she asked.

"The Eastern Arizona Cathedral," I answered, knowing Max and Ari wouldn't know.

"Okay..." Valencia muttered; she was taking it better that I thought, "and how exactly did we get here...?"

"Max and I drove..." I supplied, nonchalantly.

"I was the captain!" Ari supplied

"He had picked up the car keys instead of his plastic keys..." Max said

"No..." Ari frowned. "I have my plastic keys too..." I had to try hard to contain my laughter.

"So you purposefully picked up the keys...?" Max asked in awe.

"Naw," Ari manically. "I had em hid in my underwear since yesterday." I immediately dropped the keys in Valencia's lap, rubbing my hand in my trousers vigorously. The three of them giggled at my reaction.

"Excuse me..." a snooty male voice from behind me made me turn sharply.

"Yes?" I answered in my most in my most civilized voice. The man looked down at me, almost smirking. I wanted to wipe that smile off his face _so_ bad.

"You and your...family," he gestured to Valencia, Max and Ari, "are being quiet disruptive. May we ask you to leave...?"

I wanted to say 'No you may not!' but the whole church (8 people) was watching.

"Not, a problem, we were just leaving anyway," I said. Max and Ari took their cue, standing and helping their mother to stand as well.

"Good after noon, sir," I said coldly as we went out the 'great doors'. Add to my check list, run into trouble in a _church_. 'Cuz I'm just_ that_ special.

* * *

**Hope u liked  
btw, i'm not an atheist, I'm just writing from their POV.  
Review and don't get in trouble in church**

**-S**


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